In the hopes that NCRA JCR advertising policies can be greatly improved so that NCRA members’ dues can be lowered, I present the following information.

The new 2012 JCR Court Reporter Listing ad price is $105 for a 5-time ad.

The 1989 JCR Court Reporter Listing ad price was $100.

The 1989 JCR 1/6 page ad price was $230.

The 2012 JCR 1/6 page ad price is $394 representing an increase of 171% over the last 22 years.

If the 1989 JCR Court Reporter Listing $100 charge had increased 171% as the 1/6 page display ad rate was increased over the last 23 years, the cost of a 2012 JCR Court Reporter Listing ad would be $171.00.

Thus, by not raising the JCR Court Reporter Listing ad prices by the same 171% NCRA increased the 1/6th page ads over the last 23 years, the JCR Court Reporter Listing ad price has been devalued by 61% over the last 23 years.

$171 x .615 = $105.16.

Should good management have allowed its advertising rates to be devalued by 61% over the last 23 years?

It seems strange that prices of everything else went up over the last 23 years but that the JCR Court Reporter Listing advertising rates did not go up to pay the higher costs of increased salaries of the NCRA staff who prepare the JCR Court Reporter Listings and other JCR ad section overhead expenses such as increased costs of magazine production and mailing.

Also it seems strange that in each issue of JCR NCRA provides a totally unnecessary and some would say useless two-page Action Locator Index.

Such an unnecessary index could be costing as much $2,000 or more to publish in each issue of the JCR Magazine based on the costs of publishing two pages of JCR magazine.

It would appear the JCR Court Reporter Listing ad section is being run based on the preferences of the NCRA board of directors and the preferences of NCRA staff and not being run based on sound business principles.

We must remember that for each lost dollar of advertising revenue, that loss must be made up by increases in the dues of NCRA members.

It is estimated that NCRA loses over $400,000 per year based on JCR Court Reporter Listing ad policies which are based on preferences of the NCRA board and staff rather than sound business principles. (See note 1 at end of post.)

Such a $400,000 yearly loss has to be made up by taking $24.00 from each NCRA member’s dues to make up for the lost magazine advertising revenue.

So $24.00 of each NCRA member’s dues is attributable to making up for the lost advertising revenue as mentioned above.

One NCRA president has said that the JCR Court Reporter Listing ad prices could not have had yearly inflationary ad price increases over the years because advertisers couldn’t afford the yearly increases and would have canceled their ads.

I find that NCRA president’s statement that the JCR ad prices could not be raised to account for yearly inflation to be a statement that cannot be backed up by any facts and to be a baseless opinion that has blocked all efforts to improve JCR advertising policies.

Submitted by Bill Parsons

Note 1: That $400,000 loss estimate includes losses based on the non-growth of the ad section based on great advertiser dissatisfaction with the seniority listing of the ads.

Most potential and lost advertisers also view the seniority listing of ads as being totally unfair and discriminatory to new advertisers who are added to the end of the list of ads for their states.

Most potential and lost advertisers also view the seniority listing of the JCR Court Reporter Listing ads as being user-unfriendly for the readers of the ads and believe that seniority listing of ads presents a mish-mash chaotic presentation of the ads.